06 Jan Bitcoin And Real Estate

Bitcoin And Real Estate

Bitcoin and real estate, has anyone actually bought or sold their home with bitcoin? The answer is YES! Bitcoin is already accepted in many retail outlets and restaurants, so it’s no surprise that this has extended to real estate as well. According to an article at CNBC, “it was only a matter of time before the cryptocurrency took on real estate. That time is now. Bitcoin is slowly making its way into closings on everything from Lake Tahoe land in California to Manhattan condos to single-family homes in the heart of Texas.” Ben Shaoul, president of Magnum Real Estate Group, is a developer working on a project in Manhattan’s lower east side. The project offers condos priced between 700k and 1.5 Million U.S. Shaoul is accepting bitcoin as a possilbe mode of payment and may even consider keeping the bitcoin rather than cashing it….He sees the flexibility of his project to be able to accept payment in bitcoin, as a competitive advantage in his marketplace.

The first ever single-family home sale in Texas involving bitcoin was announced last month. The buyer, being comfortable in tech, purchased the home with bitcoin. The seller preferring payment in conventional dollars, wanted the bitcoin to be converted. BitPay, a global bitcoin payment service provider out of Atlanta converted the bitcoins into dollars for the buyer. Given that bitcoin’s value is a moving target day to day, the risk was all on the buyer side. The seller agreed to a fixed price in dollars.

There is still nervousness and confusion about how bitcoins are taxed. Some guidance was issued by the Internal Revenue Agency in 2014, “What they said in that guidance is if you hold bitcoin or ethereum or one of these other convertible digital currencies as a capital asset, when you use that bitcoin to purchase goods or services — so for example, if I were to take $1 million in bitcoin to buy an apartment building or something — to the extent that bitcoin has appreciated since I acquired it, any of that gain, that built-in gain, would be taxed when I used the bitcoin to buy the building,” said Jeremy Naylor, a tax attorney and partner at the firm Cooley.” “It would be similar to selling stock to generate the cash to buy an apartment. In a direct transaction, buyers simply skip the part where they convert the bitcoin into dollars. Using BitPay, the buyers are ‘selling’ the bitcoin, and therefore any appreciation is taxable.”

One of the first deals in the U.S. involved a $1.6 million sale of land — a home site — in Lake Tahoe in 2014 and all of the deals so far have been done without a mortgage. Bitcoin and payments with bitcoin have been around for years, but yet it’s adoption into the real estate market has been slow to take hold. British entrepreneurs Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman launched a bitcoin-priced real estate development in Dubai, and websites are starting to dot the landscape with listings priced in both conventional $$dollars and bitcoin $$dollars. In any case, this is a movement that will only grow with time as the millennials increasing get more invested in the real estate market and the price of bitcoin continues to grow in value.

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Others, however, are not as comfortable with the relatively new currency. The first ever single-family home sale in Texas involving bitcoin was announced last month. The buyer, who works in the tech industry, purchased the newly built home in Austin using bitcoin, but the seller, a custom homebuilder, wanted the currency converted to dollars during the transaction.

On the Montreal front, accounting firm, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton announced on Wednesday that it has made a multi-million-dollar investment in a new consulting firm, Catallaxy, which aims to help companies navigate the bitcoin technology. Francis Pouliot, one of the founders of Catallaxy, has been a driving force behind Bitcoin’s use in Montreal. He helped start the Bitcoin Embassy as a hub for advocates of the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin Embassy which started in September of 2013, recently closed earlier this year, Catallaxy plans to open its own community space as a sort of successor project, one with the added credibility that comes with a major partner.

“Pouliot compared blockchain to artificial intelligence – a technology area where Montreal is rapidly becoming a leader.”

To understand more about bitcoin and blockchain technologies, watch these videos;

YOcoin based on the Ethereum Blockchain is Bitcoin 2.0 This is the Future of Cryptocurrency… Sign up and purchase YOcoin at the secure link below. www.YOcoinEX.org or www.YOcoinUSA.org Feel free to ask any questions Learn more at www.YOcoin.org Facebook- www.Facebook.com/YOcoinUSA/ Instagram- www.Instagram.com/YOcoinUSA/ Twitter- www.Twitter.com/YOcoinUSA

A block chain is a transaction database shared by all nodes participating in a system based on the Bitcoin protocol. A full copy of a currency’s block chain contains every transaction ever executed in the currency. With this information, one can find out how much value belonged to each address at any point in history.

What is the blockchain? If you don’t know, you should; if you do, chances are you still need some clarification on how it actually works. Don Tapscott is here to help, demystifying this world-changing, trust-building technology which, he says, represents nothing less than the second generation of the internet and holds the potential to transform money, business, government and society.

INSTAGRAM @Sociallyconsciousrealestate

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Bonnie helped us find our first home! She was a pleasure to work with - always responsive and punctual with a fun personality to boot. It took almost six months to find what we were looking, and Bonnie guided us the whole way. We appreciated her knowledge and experience, especially when it came to holding out for what we really wanted. There was a property we were sold on, but it had some major drawbacks. Bonnie was able to give us the confidence to hold out for something better, and we are so glad we did because the home we eventually found had everything we wanted. Thank you, Bonnie, for all your help!read more

We’re residents of California and recently had the pleasure of working with Bonnie to purchase a vacation condo in Old Town Montreal. Bonnie was recommended to us by another American and what a great recommendation!
Bonnie and I talked by phone a few times to get to know each other and so she could learn what we wanted and our tastes, and we emailed listings back and forth before our trip to Montreal. Bonnie planned a full afternoon of condo visits in different areas of Montreal and chauffeured us around to each one--her parallel parking skills are unmatched! : ) Back in California, we decided to make an offer and Bonnie answered all our questions via email and phone, and guided us through making an online offer across a continent.
Sadly, the owner opted to pull their condo off the market. Bonnie rallied us and we continued to look at listings. Several times she previewed condos for us, sending photos or video. After a second trip to Montreal to visit (and revisit) condos with Bonnie, we made another offer, which was accepted. Next Bonnie helped arrange or provided info for an inspection, Canadian home insurance and banks, and the electric and phone/internet companies. She put us in touch with the condo association and procured documents for us. When my husband flew to Montreal for the signing, she drove him home from the notary, and later took him around Montreal to get key copies and try to find an open bank (holiday weekend).
Bonnie went above and beyond for us time and time again, with a great sense of humor and a lot of patience. We can’t wait to get back to Montreal to use our new condo, and look forward to seeing her again. We highly recommend Bonnie for anyone who seeks to purchase property in Montreal and wants a smooth and enjoyable journey to success!read more

I had a great experience with Bonnie Meisels. I had recently moved to Montréal and I was looking for an apartment to rent so I decided to use the services of a Real Estate agent. She was the first one I called and I was really pleased with her professionalism and her prompt response to my request. Within a few hours she sent me a bunch of listings to look at and she followed up on them. She provided a great service and I highly recommend her to anybody who is looking for a Real Estate agent.read more

Bonnie was extremely professional and helped me immensely in finding the right place for me. Always on time and always honest. She didn't try to put me in a place that wouldn't be right. We visited many places until we found the perfect spot. I would definitely call her again next time I'm shopping around for a place to live.read more

I had a great experience working with Bonnie. I was coming from outside of Montreal, and Bonnie spent a generous amount of time explaining the intricacies and subtleties of the Montreal market. She is very experienced, and knows the city of Montreal very well. Her recommendation of inspector was top notch. Bonnie is the consummate professional, detail oriented, and was very thorough in arranging my purchase. I recommend her highly, and would happily work with her again.read more

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Bonnie’s strength is her caring follow-through. She is quick to respond, and when difficulties arise, she is an active and effective advocate. As foreign buyers our situation was especially complicated, but Bonnie patiently explained things and guided us through, during the sale and beyond. It really helped to have someone on our side.read more

Bonnie was extremely helpful throughout the entire process, and was very knowledgeable about the market in Montreal. Phone calls were prompt and informative, and our visit to Montreal to view listings could not have been easier. My father and I would strongly recommend her to anyone -- student, business, or otherwise -- looking for real estate in Montreal!read more